185914: The hadeeth which says that there was no Prophet sent by Allah but he had hawaariyyoon (disciples) is to be understood as referring to what was mostly the case

It is stated in a sahih hadith in Muslim that Allah sent no prophet but he had hawaariyy who followed him held to his sunnah then there differed people afterwards….’ But in the night of Israa wal Miuraaj the prophet SAW was shown the nations and prophets and he said some prophets had no followers with them?

Published Date: 2012-08-17

Praise be to Allah.

Muslim (50)
narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood
that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“There is no Prophet whom Allaah sent to any nation
before me, but he had disciples and companions from among his nation who
followed his path and obeyed his commands. Then after them came generations who
said what they did not do and did what they were not commanded to do. Whoever
strives against them with his hand is a believer; whoever strives against them
with his tongue is a believer; whoever strives against them with his heart is a
believer. Beyond that there is not even a mustard-seed’s worth of faith.”

The hadeeth would appear to contradict the hadeeth
of Ibn ‘Abbaas, who said: The
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The
nations were shown to me and one or two Prophets would pass by me with a group
(of followers), and a Prophet who had no one with him…” Narrated by al-Bukhaari
(5705) and Muslim (220).

It was also
narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2446) and an-Nasaa’i from Ibn ‘Abbaas, who said: When the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) was taken on the Night Journey (Isra’),
one or two Prophets would pass by him who had a community with them, and one or
two Prophets who had a small group with them, and one or two Prophets who had
no one with them, until he passed by a great multitude… Classed
as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.

We may reconcile
between these hadeeths by noting that the first hadeeth is general in meaning, and the second hadeeth speaks of specific cases (not all Prophets). Most
of the Prophets, the majority of them, had companions and disciples, and some
of the Prophets did not have that.

Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Mufhim ‘ala Saheeh Muslim:
The words “There is no Prophet whom Allaah, may He be
glorified and exalted, sent to any nation before me, but he had disciples and
companions from among his nation” mean: there is none among the previous
Messengers... What is meant by that is the majority of Messengers, not all of
them, based on the fact that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said in, the hadeeth in which he spoke of the
Prophets coming with their nations on the Day of Resurrection, “A Prophet will
come accompanied by one man or two men, and a Prophet will come having no one
with him.” This is general in meaning even though other hadeeths
speaks of specific cases that were not like this.

The word hawaariyyoon (sing. hawaari)
refers to the close companions of the Prophets, those who were sincere in their
love towards their Prophets and were free from any faults.

Ibn al-Anbaari said: They are those who were of special character
and virtue.

And it was said
that they are the ones who supported their Prophets, as the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Every Prophet had hawaariyyoon
(disciples) from among his people, and my disciple is az-Zubayr.”
End quote.

Abu’l-Hasan al-Mubaarakfoori said in Mir‘aat
al-Mafaateeh Sharh Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh
(1/253): The words “There is no Prophet…” are to be understood as referring to
what is usually the case, because it says in one hadeeth
that a Prophet will come on the Day of Resurrection with no followers from
among his nation except one. End quote.